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“Chester?” Nora interrupted, backing away from my grandmother’s hand, which had obviously relaxed. “You are acquainted with my husband?”
It was the first seemingly logical thing she’d said, but now Iggy was glaring at her. I wondered if she had betrayed him.
“Are you his servants?” Nora straightened herself, smoothing her hair anxiously. “We were only just wed, so I admit to not knowing theentirestaff here.”
“I am no man’s servant,” Beatrice seethed. She pivoted and jabbed a finger into Iggy’s shoulder. “What are we to do with this insipid creature? She seemsfondof that monster. I doubt she’s going to be a useful weapon to kill Ch—”
“You are our enemies!” Nora was suddenly on her feet, hands crackling with a blue spark that was both intriguing and slightly worrisome.
Apparently, Chester was not the only ancient alchemist anymore. This could go very poorly . . . or be the asset we needed. With the way Nora was glaring at us, I was starting to suspect we had summoned a second enemy.
Iggy turned away from Beatrice and took a step toward the lady Lazarus. “Now, Nora—”
“Enemy!” Nora slapped her hand toward Iggy, not quite touching him but simply stirring the air in his direction.
Suddenly, he was writhing on the floor with blue sparks jumping all over him.
I wasn’t sure how to handle this. So far, our sought-after weapon had screamed, attacked Iggy, and was now looking at us as if she was weighing which person to attack next.
Out of one frying pan into another.
“We arenotyour enemies,” Eli said, his voice pitched low in a placating tone I had heard often enough when I needed stitches that I wasn’t interested in getting. “Before death, that man was your lover. Stop this.”
“Lies!” Nora raised that hand again as if to attack my husband.
“Fae.” Eli shrugged, but he still sounded calming. “We do not lie. You know that, don’t you, Gunnora? My kind cannot lie outright. Surely, you recall that. Things are unclear, though, are they not?”
She nodded, and then her hand folded into a fist that was still sending blue arcs over the knuckles.
“I do not know any of you.” Nora looked at each of us, as if reading our faces. “There is blood on my gown. What am I to think?”
Beatrice made a sound that was the verbal equivalent of an eye roll.
“What month is this?” Nora asked.
“The year might be more interesting,” Beatrice said carefully. “Possibly the century.”
“1630?” Nora asked.
“Add a few centuries,” I muttered, feeling immediately stricken when the woman stared at me.
Her eyes widened, and she looked around at us. I held out my phone—not turned on as it was still too recently submerged no matter what my case claimed it would protect.
The phone was curious enough in appearance that Nora sat backwards, collapsing into the bed of furs. She looked at Eli.
“Truth. She spoke truth. You died well over one hundred years ago. Murdered.” Eli still sounded soothing, but it was no longer working. His agitation slipped into his voice. Undoubtedly, I was not the only one here exhausted from our run-swim in the frigid, battering sea. Every one of us had expended magic and muscles, and yet another enemy stood glaring at us.
“And so you are telling me that there are memories after these now in my mind.” Nora tapped her head as if she could summon her recollections. Her lips pursed briefly, and her gaze narrowed. “I remember this. There was a book in my father’s laboratory. Stasis of the living.”
She placed her hand flat over her bloodied gown and bowed her head. “He killed me then. My spouse?”
“He does that to a lot of people,” I offered, but her expression was no less darkened.
In that moment, I had a glimpse of the terrifying woman that Nora might be if enraged. There was a glint in her eyes that promised violence. I glanced at Beatrice, who nodded at me. She saw that same promise.
“I need to speak to him.” Nora nodded, as if that wasthat.
“You cannot.” Iggy pushed to his feet. “And though I have feelings for you, Gunnora, if you strike me again magically or otherwise, I will not forgive it.”
